While the Wisconsin Badgers football team couldn’t get the job done on Saturday, the women’s volleyball team came from behind to beat the Oregon Ducks on Sunday in a 3-1 victory to improve to 15-3 on the year.
It was a thrilling match, with each set being decided by at most three points. Mimi Colyer led the way with 18 kills, including the clincher, while Una Vajagic added 13 kills and freshman Addy Horner had 44 assists.
Wisconsin started off hot on a five-point run to take an early 7-2 lead. It later followed that up with a six-point run to further expand its lead to 13-4 and looked like they’d cruise forward to a first set win. However, Oregon rattled off seven straight points to get things to 14-13, and it was a back-and-forth battle from there.
Neither team led by more than two points, with both sides matching each other, even reaching a 25-25 tie near the end of the set. After a Mimi Colyer kill tied things at 26 apiece, Oregon had a Cora Taylor kill and a block to close out the first set 28-26, coming from behind.
The second set began much like the first set ended with a ton of back-and-forth action. Oregon had a four-point run to take a 14-10 lead midway through the set, thanks to multiple attack errors from Wisconsin, but the Badgers climbed back to tie things at 15 apiece. Then came another three-point run from the Ducks, but the Badgers stayed right in the mix.
The turning point came with Wisconsin down 21-19. They rattled off three straight points and finished the set on a 6-3 run to win 25-23 and tie things up at 1 set apiece.
The third set was much of the same in a tight battle, with neither side having a clear advantage. Both teams responded to every score, and this set was tied at 1, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, and 21 apiece. Once again, the turning point came at the end for the Badgers, who went on a four-point run to take a 24-21 lead thanks to kills from Addy Horner, Carter Booth, and Una Vajagic (2x). Then, after an Oregon point, the Badgers closed out the set with another Booth kill to go up 2-1.
In the third set, both teams responded to each other’s runs, but Oregon had the early advantage with a 14-9 lead. Wisconsin was able to rattle off three straight points, but the Ducks maintained their distance at 16-12. Things remained tight, with the Ducks holding a 19-15 lead and later even going up 24-21 with three straight kills.
But, Wisconsin’s magic wasn’t done just yet. A service error, service ace, and two Oregon attack errors got the Badgers with an incredible four-point run to take a 25-24 lead. Then, after an Oregon point, the Badgers closed things out with a service error and a Mimi Colyer kill from the back row to get the victory.
With the win, Wisconsin improved to 15-3 and finished off its West Coast road trip with two 3-1 wins over Washington and Oregon, respectively. Next up? The long-awaited matchup with the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Field House this Friday at 8:00 p.m.
